In chapters one through five of Into the Wild by John Krakauer are full of interesting details that are abnormally placed in the layout of the book. Between pages one and forty- six, we learn a lot about Chris McCandless, and some of the people that met him along the way. In fact Chapter one opens up with an excerpt from a postcard Chris sent to Wayne Westerberg under the alias of Alex Supertramp. In it he says that it will be the last time he contacts Wayne for he now shall enter the wild. He does not know whether or not he will come back out of the woods, but if he doesn’t he wanted Wayne to know he was a good man. When Chris was getting ready to go into the wild, he met a man by the name of Jim Gallien who gave him a ride to Stampede Trail. He noticed that Chris was not very well prepared to survive in the wild alone for months. He gave Chris some Hiking boots that were waterproof and insulated unlike the ones he had on his feet. Before Chris walked into the wild he told Jim that no one knew of his plans, and that he hadn’t spoken to his family in at least two years. Chris McCandless walked into the wild on Tuesday, April 28, 1992. The story is a combination of interviews that John Krakauer compiled together in his quest to discover more information about Chris McCandless. In the book there are a lot of flash backs and we are taken to a flash back of Carthage South Dakota where we discover Chris became attached to Wayne Westerberg and decides that Carthage is a surrogate home. During Chris’ travels, he makes his way to Mexico. There he tramps around in a cheap, aluminum canoe, gets lost a few times, and then eventually makes his way back to the US. When he comes back he moves to Las Vegas for a while, gets a job, and stays stationary for a while, but eventually he grows tired of the stationary life and hits the road again. He continues to travel and meet people who are touched and inspired by him. However when the story isn’t in flash-back mode, Krakauer tells us about the finding of Chris’ body in the bus. He was found by six different moose hunters within a short period of time. The book tells us that he had been dead about two and a half weeks before the hunting parties found him, and he left an S.O.S note that said, “Attention Possible Visitors, S.O.S I need your help. I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out of here. I am all alone, this is no joke. In the name of god please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries close by and shall return this evening. Thank you, Chris McCandless. August?” It is a chilling reminder that things don’t always go according to plan. Chris believed he could survive the harsh conditions of the Alaskan wilderness, but due to unknown and unexpected events that happened in his life, he was unable to walk out of the woods on his own.
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